History

"Santa Cruz" literally means Holy Cross in Spanish, and was incorporated in 1866 as a town under the laws of the State of California. Its first charter as a city was in 1876. Santa Cruz is the county seat of Santa Cruz County, which was itself established as one of the original 27 counties when California became a state in 1850. The first settlement was Villa de Branciforte. That settlement was annexed by Santa Cruz in 1905. For a more complete history of the name "Santa Cruz" see: Santa Cruz, and for a more complete account of the area see: Santa Cruz History.